If you want to make the news, do something stupid.
That’s what we have learned this week as we continue to follow the Chris Rainey saga.
Those are the types of stories that grow legs in today’s society because we all love to criticize others in order to feel better about ourselves.
But one piece of Gators news went unnoticed this week. It wasn’t overlooked because it was meaningless. It was overlooked because it didn’t provide the ugly element out society loves to consume on a daily basis.
Florida track and field head coach Mike Holloway, who became the fist African-American head coach to win a men’s track and field national title in the spring, visited the White House on Monday with his team to participate in a ceremony hosted by the first African-American president, Barack Obama.
The tie between the two did not go unnoticed by Holloway.
“It made it very special for me because it was one of my goals,” he said. “I’m a pretty driven person to begin with, but I had a little extra drive in me because I was aware of both of those facts — that was a pretty big deal for me. When I saw him walk out there, I got chills.”
Holloway didn’t just become the first African-American coach to win a men’s track and field title by coincidence. He admitted that the milestone was one of the driving forces behind his motivation to win a national championship.
“It’s not something I’ll go around beating my chest about,” he said. “Am I proud of it? I’m very proud of it. But I also want to be the first African-American head coach to win more than one.”
Holloway looks forward to sharing his experience at the White House with his grandchildren and nine-year-old son.
One thing was missing from making it a perfect moment. The two men didn’t get an opportunity to have a conversation during the ceremony to talk about their tie.
But having something in common with the president was already enough.
“I’m not sure (President Obama) is even aware of who I am,” Holloway said.
That’s understandable, though. The president is a busy man.
But our society doesn’t have that excuse. Instead of focusing on the negative all the time, these types of stories need time to breathe, too.
